Showing Tag: " refugees" (Show all posts)

Responding to the Biblical Call

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, February 22, 2018, In : Response 


With almost 2 months behind us in 2018, not much has changed for the situation of unaccompanied youth in Europe. It doesn't seem 2018 will be much different than 2017 as borders remain closed and governments seem more focused on ways to reject asylum claims rather than help people in desperate need. However, we do recognize that the call to help "the least of these" or "the orphan and the widow" or "the foreigner" is a Biblical one not a political one. This is why we continue to focus on the ...
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The Power of Prayer

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, October 31, 2017, In : Unaccompanied Refugee Youth 

9:36 Prayer Initiative for Unaccompanied Refugee Children

November focus: For the week of the 12th-18th of November, will you join people around the globe in daily prayer for the 200,000+ unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and youth who are traveling alone through Europe? Simply set a daily calendar reminder for 9:36 a.m. and p.m. to remind you to pray for twice each day for these children.

Why 9:36 a.m./p.m.? In the Bible, the book of Mark, chapter 9, verse 36 tells us that “[Jesus] took...
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Love Europe

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, June 20, 2017, In : Refugee Stories 


This sand art video is a beautiful look at a challenging journey. Wonder why "they" leave home? Who they are? What happens when they get here? Take a few minutes to experience this view into the world of the refugee journey created by the technology folks who created the Love Europe app. We are honored and humbled to work with this team as we determine how to use this technology to also help unaccompanied refugee children and youth traveling alone in Europe.


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Welcome

Posted by Kaylee K on Friday, June 2, 2017, In : Response 
"Welcome." A single word that can transform an experience.

When we arrived at the For Refugees offices on Tuesday a sign awaited us, “Welcome John & Kaylee”. In this one act, the organization that is hosting us this summer in London made it clear: we want you here; you have a place.


And I felt that. Not just in the sign. But also in the smiles that greeted us. In the words shared. In the attitudes of hospitality. And in the considerate acts such as a teammate showing us around the office ...
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The shoes. The tree. The cemetery.

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, March 2, 2017, In : Response 

The shoes. The tree. The cemetery. These are some of my most vivid memories of our time in Budapest. Though the conference was terrific and our visits in the city were great, I was tremendously impacted by the many ways that the history of the Holocaust and the memory of the Hungarian Jews who were exterminated was marked. The bronze cast shoes along the Danube marked the place where men, women and children were shot so their bodies would fall into the river and float away. The tree was a bea...

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Why have hope this Christmas? Jesus was a refugee.

Posted by Kaylee K on Wednesday, December 14, 2016, In : Faith 

With all the “wrong” going on in this world, it is hard to imagine that any one of us can make things “right”. Watch the news, look at social media, accidentally get pulled into a political conversation at the office, and before you know it you’re lost in a state of ‘how can our world be this dark?’ and ‘what can lil’ ol’ me do about it?’ 

Believe it or not, that is where the good news dwells. When we look at the millions of people displaced by war, persecution, starvatio...

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Looking for Light and Hope in Calais’ Jungle

Posted by Kaylee K on Sunday, October 23, 2016, In : France 

Upon arrival at the Jungle (pictured above), we saw a large group gathered along the road and noticed police and an emergency vehicle. We learned that a man from the camp had been hurt in a fight with another man and was receiving medical treatment. Despite this, the make-shift camp in Calais seemed quite peaceful as 10,000 people await word on when the government will move them and to where. As I write this blog post, the French authorities have confirmed that evictions will begin on Monday ...

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More Jungle Stories: Along the Highway

Posted by Kaylee K on Wednesday, October 19, 2016, In : France 


As we travel across northern France we spot jungles. Not what you imagine seeing in Europe. But these certainly aren’t the rainforests your mind may conjure up upon hearing the term either. For asylum seekers, the make-shift camps they are often relegated to on the edges of farms along the tree lines are more like jungles than homes. Urban settings would certainly provide access to more resources and potential community. But it would also mean that the asylum seekers are visible, which is n...

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Our First Visit to a Jungle: Dunkirk Camp

Posted by Kaylee K on Monday, October 17, 2016, In : France 

We stop at the security check point and sign in. As we enter the Dunkirk camp, we pass many men in the mobile station charging phones and accessing WiFi. The dirt road winds right where we see the latrines and then left, leading us to the kitchen (pictured above). As we go through the tent that covers the dining area and water station, several Afghan men greet us and direct us to the kitchen. There we find a cement block building housing food donations. As we walk through we are greeted by th...

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Prayerfully, Together: The Church Can Help Refugee Children

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, September 20, 2016, In : Unaccompanied Refugee Youth 
Nearly 100,000 refugee children are traveling to and across Europe without a parent or guardian. Despite their recognition as the most vulnerable population within the millions of asylum seekers on the Refugee Highway, there has been little coordinated assistance, and many challenges to establishing such assistance, to ensure their safety and care as they travel from their home country to their destination country in Europe.

Several months ago, I felt a very strong leading to research this sit...

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A Vision to Help 100,000 Children

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, In : Unaccompanied Refugee Youth 


As we prepare for our work in Europe, we’ve become aware of the dire situation faced by refugee youth as nearly 100,000 travel alone to and through Europe. Our hearts are burdened for these children, some as young as 7, who are alone and scared, and often living in over-filled shelters or on the streets where they are targeted for sex trafficking and slave labor. Because of this, over these last many months we have refined our focus to that of helping the church in Europe to help these chil...

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Easter Prayer for Refugees, Europe and Leaders

Posted by Kaylee K on Friday, March 25, 2016, In : Italy 
Sad decisions; scary times….but God is bigger than all of this. Please join us in prayer for Europe – both for the citizens and for the refugees arriving there. The news in Europe continues to get bleaker and as of today:
  • In the wake of the Brussels bombings, Poland has retracted its commitment to receive 7,000 refugees from Italy and Greece. With the attacks in Paris and Brussels, there is a further blurring of lines and messaging as the media and politicians tie the conversation about th...

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Lost a Job and Found Direction

Posted by Kaylee K on Monday, March 14, 2016, In : Faith 

One year ago I lost my job. And, it was terrific! Seriously, I have been laid off twice in my life and both worked out for good. The first time I ended up being able to pay off my debt (that’s a God-story for another day) and this time I was freed up to move into the ministry role I’d been preparing for for a long time. What I learned is that situations we are quick to label as bad, can often turn out to be good if we allow them to. 

Before I get too far into how this came about, let me sh...

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A Refugee Tale: The Impact of the Church

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, March 3, 2016, In : Response 
During our time in Italy we were humbled and encouraged by our encounters with refugees who were willing to share some of their journey with us. Over and over, we learned of the impact that Christians and churches have had. We heard first-hand testimony from refugees about Christians who cared for them and led them to Christ. We heard from churches about the power they saw just by welcoming refugees into their community. And we learned that when a Christ-follower serves a refugee at one point...
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Projects for the Type-A’s Among Us (Including Me!)

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, In : Italy 
While we have found that much of the fruitful work in refugee ministry truly is about relationships not projects, my Type-A personality gets really excited about plans and strategy. So, I was encouraged during our time this past month with potential ministry partners and churches in Italy as we learned about their wonderful blend of heart for the nations and mind for programs to help the foreigners in their midst. Specifically, we anticipate seeing God move resources and people toward several...

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Just Show Up

Posted by Kaylee K on Wednesday, February 3, 2016, In : Faith 
It has been an interesting journey these last eight months. In June, we moved out of our apartment in Jersey City and in with my father in Maryland for the summer as we sensed God was confirming our call to Italy that we heard 8 years ago. We applied with International Association for Refugees and were accepted as full-time missionaries in August. And then we launched into a three-month road trip that took us to training in Minneapolis with our organization, visiting our sons at their college...

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To Be Satisfied

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, November 3, 2015, In : Faith 
As we are traveling, we have had the opportunity to worship at several churches across Middle America. In Austin, we have been impacted by a church whose pastor is leading them in 40-days of prayer and fasting (http://www.acfellowship.org/). While he is doing an actual fasting from food for 40 days, he has instructed that this fast can look different as each person discerns -- perhaps it is 40 days without social media; maybe fasting 1 day each week or 1 meal each day during the 40 days; or t...

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A Desire for Home

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, October 1, 2015, In : Faith 
John and I have had quite an interesting journey since giving up our apartment in Jersey City in early June. We spent this summer living at my Pop's place on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to save funds so we could begin to prepare for ministry in Italy. In late August, we began what will be at least 10 week road trip, of which we are 5 weeks into. These travels have taken us to see family in the north east and mid west. We've gotten to see two of our three sons at their respective colleges. W...

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When Children are Being Harmed, We Must Respond

Posted by Kaylee K on Friday, September 18, 2015, In : Response 
My heart is breaking. I just watched a video newscast on what equates to child slavery and trafficking in Italy, which is being fueled by the migrant crisis and the EU’s inability to decide on how to respond. As a human, I cannot tolerate this. As a Christian, I am called to respond.

 
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the k...

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Six Biblically-Based Steps Churches Can Take to Respond to the Refugee Crisis

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, September 17, 2015, In : Response 
(edited version of post from IAFR site: http://bit.ly/1KTOlNu)

1. Get informed/Stay informed: Here are some helpful resources:

o   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Refugees, https://twitter.com/WEAnews, https://twitter.com/WEA_UN, https://twitter.com/RefugeesMedia, https://twitter.com/IAFR, https://twitter.com/RefuGmin 

o   Facebook: www.facebook.com/refu...


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And We're Off....

Posted by Kaylee K on Friday, July 31, 2015, In : Italy 
I feel like a horse at the gate at the Kentucky Derby! I'm chomping at the bit. My ears are perked. I'm digging my hooves into earth. I whinny as the I see the other horses get set. And...I wait for the starting gun to blast. This is actually where we were "at" in Oct. 2011 after returning from Italy. "Send us, Lord," we thought. But we waited for His timing. "Send us, Lord," we whispered. But we didn't have a plan or really a sense of the what, when or where. But, we did know (and still know...

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Challenge: What Reality Changes Your Life?

Posted by Kaylee K on Friday, March 30, 2012, In : Refugee Stories 
As I sit at my desk in my air conditioned office, with a beautiful view of a sunny day and the skyline of Austin in the distance, I can't not ask why I'm here. I'm not pondering the big philosophical question of my existence (we can hold that for another day), but more the question of why I (me, Kaylee, this individual) am blessed to have been born where I was when I was while so many people I love -- although we have yet to meet -- are close to starving in refugee camps or have died while tr...
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NOW its a mission trip!

Posted by Kaylee K on Tuesday, September 20, 2011, In : Italy 
I have to admit that as we were working with our trip guide, Paul, to put together the details of the upcoming Italy trip I've struggled with the idea of taking a vision trip (vs. a mission trip) and wondered if we would truly get to serve and if we would even have time to really see what God was up to with refugees in Italy. We have plans to meet with at least 4 ministries and one government program in the course of 7 days. This seemed like a lot of intellectual time and my heart was craving...
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What to pack?

Posted by Kaylee K on Friday, September 16, 2011, In : Italy 
How do you prepare for a vision from God? As Joh...
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Blog Authors


John and Kaylee Kolditz Kaylee founded Refugee Connect in 2008. John joined the work in 2011 as we investigated the refugee situation in Europe. But our faith and cross-cultural journeys have been a work-in-progress for many years. Much of this blog reflects that. ************************************************ We met in Austin, TX, while volunteering at a serving event at Gateway Church and have been married since 2002. Marriage, parenting and ministry all require a great deal of intentionality, humility and true reliance on God for strength, wisdom, and grace. It is a journey we are grateful to be on together. Ultimately, what matters to us is building into meaningful relationships in ways that, to the best of our ability and by God's grace, demonstrate the love and hope Jesus freely offers to us all. ************************************************ We bring both business and ministry backgrounds into our current work. John started a business in his 20's and helped build several other businesses. He has also served with churches in a variety of roles including as an assistant pastor, director of community development, and missions board member. Kaylee left her marketing career to become the global missions director for our home church in Austin, TX, then founded a local refugee ministry, and became TEFL certified (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) in order to prepare for our work overseas. We have led short-term teams domestically and internationally, and served with a variety of cross-cultural ministries. In 2008, we sensed a call to build into the church in Europe, which was also around the time when God broke Kaylee’s heart for refugees. Since then, God has continued to weave together this heart for refugees, desire to serve alongside the church, and focus on His call to Europe.

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